Getting started

Revue is a desktop app for reviewing pull requests on GitHub, Bitbucket Cloud and Forgejo (Codeberg, Gitea). It runs on Linux, Windows and macOS, and it's free.

Download#

Get the latest version for your system from the downloads page. It shows your system first. Older versions and release notes are on the releases page.

System requirements

• Linux: x86_64 with glibc 2.36 or newer (Debian 12, Ubuntu 23.04 and later, or anything as recent). Revue needs libxcb and libxkbcommon, and loads Wayland or X11, Vulkan and fontconfig when it starts, so you need a graphics driver with Vulkan support. Any desktop with Wayland or X11 works.
• Windows: 64-bit (x86_64).
• macOS: macOS 11 (Big Sur) or newer. One app runs natively on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.

There is no ARM build for Linux or Windows yet. You can build Revue yourself for other systems.

Install on Linux#

Install Revue with your distribution's package manager: it then updates along with the rest of your system. Each one needs its repository added once.

Debian, Ubuntu and others using apt:

sudo mkdir -p /etc/apt/keyrings
sudo curl -fsSL https://forgejo.cleangame.dev/api/packages/thatrichan/debian/repository.key -o /etc/apt/keyrings/revue.asc
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/revue.asc] https://forgejo.cleangame.dev/api/packages/thatrichan/debian stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/revue.list
sudo apt update && sudo apt install revue

Fedora and others using dnf:

sudo dnf config-manager addrepo --from-repofile=https://forgejo.cleangame.dev/api/packages/thatrichan/rpm.repo
sudo dnf install revue

On older dnf (Fedora 40 and before, RHEL), the first line is sudo dnf config-manager --add-repo https://forgejo.cleangame.dev/api/packages/thatrichan/rpm.repo. On openSUSE: sudo zypper addrepo https://forgejo.cleangame.dev/api/packages/thatrichan/rpm.repo, then sudo zypper install revue.

Arch Linux and others using pacman. Import the repository's key:

curl -fsSL https://forgejo.cleangame.dev/api/packages/thatrichan/arch/repository.key -o revue.gpg
sudo pacman-key --add revue.gpg
sudo pacman-key --lsign-key [email protected]

Then add this to /etc/pacman.conf, and run sudo pacman -Syu revue:

[thatrichan.revue.forgejo.cleangame.dev]
SigLevel = Required
Server = https://forgejo.cleangame.dev/api/packages/thatrichan/arch/revue/x86_64

With Nix: nix profile install git+https://forgejo.cleangame.dev/thatrichan/nix-revue installs the release's binary, with nothing to compile (x86_64). To build from source instead, on any architecture, use the flake git+https://forgejo.cleangame.dev/thatrichan/revue: add it as an input, or run nix profile install with it.

Then start Revue from your app menu, or run revue in a terminal.

Advanced: what the packages install

• the program: /usr/bin/revue
• the desktop entry: /usr/share/applications/revue.desktop
• the icons: /usr/share/icons/hicolor/<size>x<size>/apps/revue.png

They also install what Revue needs to run (Wayland and X11 libraries, Vulkan, fontconfig) and git. The gh CLI is suggested, not required.

Revue doesn't update itself when a package manager installed it: Settings → About says so, and you update it with the package manager (see Updates).

AppImage#

The .AppImage file runs on any distribution, without installing: make it executable and start it.

chmod +x revue-vX.Y.Z-linux-x86_64.AppImage
./revue-vX.Y.Z-linux-x86_64.AppImage

It updates itself like the other downloads: the new version replaces the file. Keep it in a folder you can write to, such as ~/Applications.

Without a package manager#

1. Download the .tar.gz file and extract it.
2. In the extracted folder, run task install.
3. Start Revue from your app menu, or run revue in a terminal.

task install needs Task. If you don't have it, you can also run ./revue straight from the extracted folder.

Advanced: what `task install` does

It installs Revue for your user only, into ~/.local:

• the program: ~/.local/bin/revue
• the desktop entry, so Revue shows in your app menu: ~/.local/share/applications/revue.desktop
• the icons: ~/.local/share/icons/hicolor/<size>x<size>/apps/revue.png

If ~/.local/bin isn't on your PATH, it tells you so. Add it to run revue from a terminal.

To install for every user instead, run it as root with another prefix: task install PREFIX=/usr/local.

To uninstall, delete those files. Your settings and sign-ins are elsewhere (see Files, sync and settings for one computer).

Install on Windows#

With Scoop, Revue installs and updates with your other apps:

scoop bucket add revue https://forgejo.cleangame.dev/thatrichan/scoop-revue
scoop install revue

Or with the installer:

1. Download the -setup.exe file and run it.
2. Pick a folder or keep the default, then click Install.
3. Leave Start Revue ticked on the last page, or start Revue later from the Start menu.

The installer doesn't need administrator rights. You can also download the .zip instead, extract it anywhere and run revue.exe.

Advanced: what the installer does

• It installs for your user only, by default into %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Revue, so Revue can update itself in place (see Updates).
• It adds a Revue shortcut to the Start menu.
• It adds Revue to Apps in Windows Settings, where you can uninstall it.
• If an older Revue is running, the installer closes it first.

Uninstalling removes the program, the shortcut and, if you registered it, the revue:// link handler. Your settings and sign-ins stay (see Files, sync and settings for one computer).

Install on macOS#

With Homebrew:

brew tap thatrichan/revue https://forgejo.cleangame.dev/thatrichan/homebrew-revue
brew install --cask thatrichan/revue/revue

Then open Revue as in step 3 below. Revue updates itself either way. Or by hand:

1. Download the .dmg file and open it.
2. Drag Revue onto the Applications folder next to it.
3. The first time, right-click Revue.app in Applications and choose Open, then confirm.

After that first time, Revue opens like any other app.

You can also download the .zip, extract it and move Revue.app to Applications yourself.

Start Revue for the first time#

The first time you start Revue, you see the Welcome to Revue screen. It lists every service Revue works with:

• GitHub: github.com, with the browser, a personal access token or the gh CLI
• Bitbucket Cloud: bitbucket.org, with the browser or an Atlassian API token
• Forgejo: Codeberg or your own server (Gitea too), with the browser or an access token
• Jira (optional): open tickets linked from pull requests in Revue
• Slack (optional): reply in a pull request's Slack thread when you review it

Connect at least one code host (GitHub, Bitbucket or Forgejo). You can connect as many accounts as you like, on any mix of services.

Sign in to your first account#

1. On the welcome screen, click the service, for example GitHub.
2. Click Sign in with GitHub (or Sign in with Bitbucket, Sign in with browser for Forgejo).
3. Your browser opens. Sign in there if it asks, and allow Revue access.
4. Come back to Revue. It connects by itself, and the card shows Connected.
5. Click Continue.

For GitHub, the browser asks for a code. Revue shows it and has already copied it to your clipboard: paste it on the page and click Continue there.

Prefer a token? Click Advanced: use a token instead under the button. The form lists exactly which permissions the token needs, with a Create token button that opens the right page.

Each service has its own page with all the details: GitHub, Bitbucket Cloud, Forgejo, Codeberg and Gitea, Jira and Slack. How sign-ins work in general, and where tokens are kept, is in Accounts and signing in.

Advanced: the welcome screen, step by step

• After each sign-in you're back on the list of services. Click a service again to add another account on it: its card then says Click to add another account, and shows how many accounts are connected.
• The × on a connected card disconnects its accounts again (Disconnect, or Disconnect all when there are several).
• All providers at the bottom of a sign-in form takes you back to the list without signing in.
• Continue shows up once a code host account is connected. Jira and Slack alone aren't enough, as they don't have pull requests.
• On a computer with the gh CLI signed in (or GITHUB_TOKEN / GH_TOKEN set), Use the gh CLI under GitHub's token form connects that account in one click.
• Everything here can be changed later in Settings → Accounts.

What you see next#

After Continue, Revue shows the pull request list: everything waiting for you on every connected account.

• To review: reviews requested from you, and pull requests you've reviewed before
• Mine: pull requests you opened
• All in my repos: every open pull request in the repositories you work in

Each row shows the checks, the review state and your drafts. Click one to open it in a tab. Tabs stay open when you restart Revue.

A few shortcuts to find your way around:

On macOS, use Cmd instead of Ctrl. More in The pull request list, tabs and search and Keyboard shortcuts.

Your first review#

1. Open a pull request from To review, or press Ctrl+K and paste its link.
2. Read the changes on the Files tab. Press j and k to move between files.
3. Press v when you're done with a file: it's marked viewed and Revue jumps to the next one.
4. To comment, click the + next to a line (or drag along the line numbers to pick several), write your comment and click Add to review.
5. When you've gone through everything, press Ctrl+Enter to open the submit dialog.
6. Write a summary if you like, pick Comment, Approve or Request changes, and submit.

Your comments and summary are saved as you type. Even if Revue closes or submitting fails, nothing is lost.

Next, read Reviewing the diff to see changes since your last review or a single commit, Comments, threads and drafts for replies and threads, and Reviews, approvals, merging and editing for everything about submitting.

Keep Revue up to date#

Revue tells you when a new version is out and installs it for you. See Updates.